Global BC news announced last night that the new Port Mann Bridge may not be twinned at all, but may be a single "super bridge" that will be the largest in Canada. The various partners are thinking along these lines because the old Port Mann is 45 years old and maintenance will be ongoing and costly. The new super structure would have up to 10 lanes and if built, would make way for the old Port Mann to be torn down.
Transportation Minister Kevin Flacon said this new design (if built) would include dedicated lanes for transit and he specifically mentioned rapid bus lanes. He also talked about this rapid bus service being able to travel from Langley to the Burnaby SkyTrain station in only 23 minutes.
A few weeks the TransLink CEO Tom Prendergast commented to a group of elected officials that building rapid bus infrastructure is bascially a waste of time, and that LRT lines would be better money spent.
Minister Falcon's comments were disappointing given the TransLink CEO's comments and also the ongoing new south of Fraser transit study that is to be completed in late 2009. Would this not have an imact on the Port Mann Bridge project? I sure hope they change their minds about rapid bus and go with LRT.
Unfortunately the Global website does not provide direct links to videos. You can go to their main website's video tab and select Thursday night's 6pm News Hour, and again at 11pm on News Hour Final.
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